Mastercard Adds Benefits to World and World Elite Cards

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Many Mastercard credit cardholders in the U.S. are getting a fleet of new benefits, most of which start April 16, 2019, in partnership with major digital brands such as Lyft, Postmates, Fandango and more.

But Mastercard will also be eliminating two valuable perks from its standard package of benefits on July 1, 2019: extended warranty and price protection.

New benefits will be added to cards at the “World” and “World Elite” levels. Plenty of cards run on the Mastercard payment network, but not all Mastercards are World or World Elite. The Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card is one example of a card that would be affected.

For World Elite cardholders

Lyft: Earn one $10 credit for every five rides you take per calendar month. The credit will be automatically applied to your next ride, and the benefit is capped at once per month.

Fandango: Get double Fandango VIP+ points for tickets you buy via the Fandango app or website (125 points via Fandango, and 125 points via the World Elite benefit). Points can be used toward Fandango movie tickets or streamed movies and TV shows on FandangoNOW. (You get a $5 reward automatically for every 500 points earned.)

Boxed: Earn 5% cash rewards on every purchase made through the Boxed website or app. Rewards may be redeemed to pay for future qualifying purchases.

For World Elite and World cardholders

Postmates: Get $5 off every order of $25 or more.

Cell phone insurance (available July 1): This benefit covers stolen or damaged cell phones, including scratched screens, when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your World or World Elite Mastercard. You’ll pay a $50 deductible, but you can receive a maximum of $600 per claim as a World cardholder, and $800 as a World Elite cardholder (no more than $1,000 per year for either one). You must file a claim to be eligible for this benefit.

Enhanced Mastercard ID Theft Protection (available July 1): You must register to have access to this service, which provides digital servicing to monitor your personal information and a team of identity theft resolution specialists available 24 hours a day to address your concerns.

“Consumers live very differently in today’s always-on digital world, and their expectations have evolved,” said Amnah Ajmal, executive vice president of Mastercard’s core products in North America, in a news release. “To better meet their needs, we are leveraging technology to seamlessly embed products and solutions into their everyday lives.”

What to keep in mind

Some benefits are going away

With these changes, Mastercard is also ditching extended warranty and price protection beginning July 1. (Issuers may opt to retain these benefits themselves, according to Mastercard.)

Extended warranty added time to a qualifying warranty originally purchased with a manufacturer; price protection reimbursed the difference if you found a lower advertised price within a certain timeframe for an item you had already bought. Both typically required a claims process. But card issuers have been steadily eliminating these kinds of side perks in recent years.

Compared with those past perks, customers may find the new benefits easier to use. For example, with the Lyft, Fandango, Boxed and Postmates perks, you need only to have a registered account and the appropriate linked Mastercard to qualify. You’ll earn the credit or rewards automatically.

Cell phone protection just got easier to find

It used to be rare for a credit card to offer cell phone insurance. Now, you’ll likely have more options.

Mastercard says it made many of its additions to serve consumers’ changing needs.

“I’m sure you don’t remember the last time you broke your fridge, but you do remember the last time you broke your phone,” Ajmal says.

Check with your issuer

Mastercard says these are core benefits that it will provide to all eligible cardholders, no matter the issuer. But the company also says that issuers may choose to supplement these benefits.

“Applicable banks are beginning to roll out the above benefits; cardholders should contact their issuing bank for additional information,” Mastercard said in its news release.

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